A broadcast communication system employs a high-power amplifier as part of a signal transmission or transponder section of the system. Unfortunately, the high-power amplifier has distorting characteristics that cause distortion of an information signal that is amplified. The distorting characteristics of the high-power amplifier can impact the instantaneous amplitude and phase of the signal significantly.
Several known techniques are used to "pre-distort" or "pre-correct" an information signal in order to adjust the output of the high-power amplifier to the desired signal characteristics. Examples of such pre-correction techniques include those disclosed by Davis et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,277 and the co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/885,374, filed Jun. 30, 1997, to Twitchell et al.
In one type of broadcast communication system, a plurality of high-power amplifiers are utilized, in parallel, to achieve a desired transmission output level. Examples of such communication systems are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,111 to Swanson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,637 to Swanson, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/885,375 to Swanson, filed Jun. 30, 1997.